Love Is Suicide
by nigao
Summary: An unexpected curse throws Harry and Draco together in the aftermath of the War which soon makes Harry realise that Draco is more important to him than he'd ever thought before...
1. Battle

**Chapter One - Battle**

_1st November_

It was a perfect night for an attack. The darkness was absolute with even the sliver of moon obscured by clouds. It was also raining. Not hard, but enough to drown out the popping sounds of wizards' apparating beside the darkened castle.

Harry was glad for the extra cover, not that the weather would help much in preventing their detection by magical means, but he felt anything tipping in their balance was a good thing for this raid.

He looked up at the dark bulk of the Scottish castle above them. It looked cold and forbidding. It seemed a fitting place for a meeting of murderous Death Eaters, he thought grimly.

"Harry!" He turned at Ginny's whispered shout.

There were seven of them in the team and they had apparated as close to the gates as possible, without setting off the castle's outer wards.

Besides himself and Ginny, there was also Hermione, Seamus, Angelina, Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Alright everyone," Hermione whispered, as they all huddled together "We think there is a small group of Death Eater leaders gathered here at Lucius Malfoy's instigation. Our intelligence has it that Malfoy is planning a major attack and is hoping to reveal his plans to his followers tonight. If we can apprehend these Death Eaters then we will have a major insight into their operations and possibly smash the Death Eater ring in Britain for good." Hermione paused to look at everyone in turn. "So I want them to be captured alive if at all possible."

As the Head of the Tactical Coordination Division in the Department of Aurors, Hermione was responsible for organising tonight's raid, and she eyed each of her team to make sure they were ready.

Her team returned her scrutiny solemnly. This raid was to be conducted on highly powerful Death Eaters and the consequences of failure were dire. Each member of the team knew they could be facing Death or worse, but they were all veterans of the War, and none of them faltered in their resolve.

There was another faint 'pop' from behind them and they turned as one, wands pointed at the newcomer. To Harry's surprise, Cho Chang emerged from the darkness, her dark hair plastered to her face from the rain.

He realized he hadn't seen her this close since their days at Hogwarts, despite her being also employed at the Ministry of Magic. He wasn't sure what status she had though, but he had the suspicion that she was an Unspeakable.

Cho approached the group, ignoring the wands directed at her, and not even sparing Harry a glance.

"He says they're all there and that you have five minutes to get inside before the wards become reactivated. They're in the library which is situated around the back of the castle, ground level, it has only one entrance." She reported.

_He?_ Harry hadn't known they had a spy working inside, but he wasn't complaining if having a person undercover meant they could maintain their element of surprise until the last possible moment. Idly he wondered who it was. Surely Malfoy didn't trust Snape enough to allow him into his core? He had heard that while Snape was still a double agent for the Ministry, Lucius didn't have as much trust in him as Voldemort had. Consequently he hadn't been in any position to learn any really useful information.

"Did he say how many of them there are?" Hermione asked Cho quickly.

"He said he only had a glimpse so he doesn't know the exact number. But he thinks around five." Cho replied.

Hermione nodded and turned to her team. "All right. I want everyone to split up and converge upon the castle in small teams so as to not alert anyone. Angelina and Kingsley, you go around the castle and approach from the back. Seamus and Tonks, I want you to go from the North side. And Harry and Ginny, I want you to go in from the South side. Stun anyone you meet but do it quietly alright? We don't want to alert the Death Eaters to our presence unless we absolutely have to."

Everyone nodded. "What about you Hermione?" Harry asked her, concerned. Involuntarily his eyes strayed to her gloved hand, hidden under her robes. She had lost that hand in one of the many battles during the War and which now acted as a constant reminder why she was a more valuable agent off the field than on it.

She gave him a small smile. "I'll be waiting here with the Portkey and in case something goes wrong and we need back up. Cho will stay with me." She gave Cho a look who nodded, her face inscrutable.

Harry still felt uneasy but he nodded anyway. Hermione was still one of his best friends and he hated leaving her in potential danger.

There was a faint buzzing that they all felt. A moment later, Harry realized that the wards had been disabled. They now had clear access to the castle.

"Ok, everyone go quickly!" Hermione whispered in an urgent voice.

Wordlessly Seamus and Tonks disapparated, followed quickly by Angelina and Kingsley. Harry gave Ginny's hand a squeeze. She smiled back at him determinedly and they disapparated.

A moment later, they appeared in a little herb garden to the side of the castle. Leading the way, Harry made his way along the stony path up to the glass doors. He looked through; everything appeared to be dark and quiet. Ginny leaned around his shoulder; he could feel the warmth of her breath on his cheek.

"It doesn't look like anyone's in there. Let's go before the wards become reactivated." He whispered to her. She nodded. He muttered '_Alohomora_' and the doors opened with a faint click.

They slipped inside. Ginny did a few quick detection spells and then mouthed "All clear." They hurried through several rooms. All deserted. Harry led the way hoping he was going in the right direction.

They met Seamus and Tonks in a hallway. Tonks also mouthed "All clear." They were soon joined by Angelina and Kinglsley who had gone the long way around.

They could hear voices coming from down the hall and they approached cautiously, wands ready. Harry was closest to the door and he signaled the others to wait as he pushed his ear against the door to listen. It seemed there was some sort of argument happening.

"…I'm just saying Lucius, you haven't shown us any proof that this key even exists and if you want us to continue to follow your lead, you'll have to give us some." A deep voice intoned.

"Gentlemen, I assure you that this key exists and I intend to get it." Harry heard Lucius Malfoy's drawl.

"How?" Another voice demanded. "You don't even know where this key is, let alone how to get it!"

"My dear Nott, I hope you are not doubting my abilities?" Malfoy's voice again, this time decidedly colder.

"Of course not Lucius," Nott's voice again, a degree of awkwardness in his words "It's just like Avery said, we need a bit more proof that this plan of yours will actually work if we want to keep what support we have. Already some of my men have expressed their doubts and I fear if they're not as committed to the cause then they will begin defecting to the other side."

"Then tell them if they defect then they will feel the full wrath of the Dark Lord when he rises again, for no one betrays the Dark Lord and escapes." A woman's voice this time. Harry's eyes widened as he recognized the person speaking. It was Bellatrix Lestrange, the woman who had tortured the Longbottoms into insanity and killed Sirius. He tightened his grip on his wand.

"Quite right my dear." Lucius' voice again "As for how to find the key I already-"

CRASH.

Harry whirled around to see Tonks wrestling with a large plant with silver tentacle like vines intent on trapping her.

Cursing, Harry yelled "NOW!" and dived through the door, rolling as he hit the floor. It was lucky he had dived as he felt the flash of blue light of a curse fly over him. He quickly scrambled to his feet casting two curses in quick succession before he'd even straightened properly.

There were seven of them.

Angelina had been stunned by the curse meant for him and she lay on the ground near the door. Seamus and Ginny had both apparated into the room, and were exchanging hexes with Nott, and Crabbe and Goyle Senior. Shacklebolt was engaged in a duel with Avery, leaving Harry with Lestrange, Malfoy and Pettigrew.

"Well well, how nice of you to drop in Mr. Potter." Malfoy drawled. He raised his wand but Harry dove behind a leather armchair and once again felt a curse fly over his head. A moment later he popped up and sent another two hexes over before ducking down again. He was rewarded with a grunt from Pettigrew.

A moment later, Tonks appeared next to him behind the chair. "H-Harry, I'm so sorry! The plant, it was a Devil's Snare!" She panted.

"It doesn't matter!" he shouted. Hexes were flying thick and fast. Tonks nodded and they both stood up at the same time, firing hexes and cursing as fast as they could while trying to dodge spells.

There were more 'popping' sounds and Harry inwardly groaned to see three more Death Eaters appear in the room. He cursed the inside agent for giving them a wrong estimate of numbers. They were now outnumbered two to one.

Then he realized who the newcomers were. It was Draco Malfoy, and Crabbe and Goyle Junior. They looked confused at the battle in progress. Without hesitation Harry sent a Bat Bogey hex at Draco who ducked, and hit Crabbe Jnr in the face instead. Harry caught a glimpse of Draco's unnaturally white face mottle in anger before he had to duck again to avoid another curse.

All of a sudden, Harry felt Ginny's white-hot rage sear through him followed by her shriek on the other side of the room an instant later. Glancing wildly around the room, Harry saw that she was standing protectively over Seamus' body throwing curse after curse at Nott, eyes blazing. Crabbe and Goyle Senior had both been incapacitated.

"Ginny!" Harry yelled, desperately trying to get around the room to reach her.

He saw that Shacklebolt was still engaged in the duel with Avery. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Angelina weakly fumbling at something in her robes. Pettigrew was moaning against a wall from Harry's curse and Tonks was trying to fend off both Malfoy and Lestrange.

Cursing again, Harry abandoned trying to reach Ginny.

Pointing his wand at Lestrange he shouted "_Stupefy!_" She deflected his curse with ease and turned to him, black eyes glittering.

"Potter." She purred. "How I've waited for a chance to finish the job I started last time."

Harry knew she was referring to the time he had faced her in the Ministry of Magic when he was still in his fifth year. The night that she had murdered Sirius. Anger surged through him again, this time his own.

"You will pay for spilling Sirius' blood!" He spat at her. She laughed, humourless and with an edge of insanity to it.

"I don't think so!" She hissed back at him.

They both cast spells at the same time.

"_Avada-_"

"_Expelliarmus!_"

Both of them missed, but only because Lestrange had been knocked over by a stray curse that Tonks was shooting at Malfoy. Harry moved to curse Lestrange again, but wasn't quick enough as with one last glare, Lestrange disapparated clutching her arm.

"Shit!" He swore. Furious at losing Lestrange, Harry momentarily let his guard down.

"_Tre Dekavra!_"

The curse hit him from behind.

Whirling he turned to see Pettigrew grinning maniacally, wand falling from his limp hand as blood soaked his robes.

Everything seemed to be leached of colour all of a sudden and Harry could feel a dense greyness closing over him.

"Harry!" He heard Ginny call. He couldn't decide whether he was hearing her voice in his head or not. He tried to call back to her but he found he didn't have the energy all of a sudden.

Someone pushed him down. He saw a flash of blond hair and a brilliant searing green light that went on and on.

"Wha-"

He found he couldn't struggle against the darkness anymore.


	2. Finding Answers

**Chapter Two – Finding Answers**

_4th November_

Harry woke to the murmur of voices. He could make out vague shapes flitting against a warm orange glow. He lay still, hoping to figure out where he was without giving away the fact that he was conscious. The first thing they had learnt in Auror training had been that the more knowledge they gathered, the better their chances of surviving a hostile situation.

"Give it up Potter." He heard a lazy voice drawl next to his ear. Despite his intentions, Harry's eyes flew open to find Draco Malfoy's grey ones staring back at him coldly from a bed next to his.

Harry realized they were in St Mungo's.

"Harry!" Harry grunted in surprise as Ginny threw herself onto him.

"Oh Harry, you're awake!" He heard Molly Weasly exclaim tearfully. "We were so worried!"

Harry could only manage a muffled reply through Ginny's kisses. Behind the mass of red hair in his face he could see Molly, Hermione, Bill and Tonks all beaming at him.

"It's good to finally see you're awake. You gave us quite a scare Harry." Bill grinned at him. "Mum was about to fret herself into a bed here as well."

"Yes, we weren't sure when you were going to wake… if at all." Hermione said. Molly gave her a reproachful glare.

"How long was I asleep for?" Harry asked, now that Ginny had transferred her death grip from his neck to his hand.

"Three days." Ginny replied "We didn't know if you were in a coma or not."

"Three _days_?" Harry exclaimed. "What happened with the mission? The last I remember was getting hit by a curse…"

He saw Ginny hesitate and look towards Hermione. "We'll explain everything when we debrief you." Hermione said quickly.

As if on cue, the doors to the ward opened and Harry was surprised to see Percy, Cho and Anita Powers, the new Minister of Magic, enter.

Ginny's grip tightened, causing Harry to wince. He also felt both Bill and Molly stiffen at the sight of the third Weasly brother.

Percy gave no indication of having seen any of his family members. On the other side of the Minister, Cho's face was equally as inscrutable.

Minister Powers smiled warmly at Harry. "It's good to see you're awake Agent Potter. Are you feeling well enough to do the debriefing now?"

Harry nodded, though he was in fact feeling rather nauseous. Minister Powers smiled apologetically at the group and said "I'm afraid, only those with the correct clearances may stay for the debriefing."

Molly nodded, leaning over to give Harry a kiss "I'll let Arthur know you're alright, and we'll both come and visit you again soon dear."

Tonks also came over, her hair a subdued hue of violet today, to give him a hug and to whisper "I'm sorry for giving away our position at the raid Harry."

"Don't worry, you payed me back for saving me from Lestrange." Harry told her reassuringly. "Aren't you staying?"

"We've already been debriefed." Ginny interjected.

Harry felt a twinge of sadness from her and was puzzled, but didn't have time to ask any questions as Hermione began ushering everyone out. Ginny gave his hand one last squeeze before leaving with Molly, Bill and Tonks.

When Hermione came back, they all settled themselves around both Harry and Draco's beds.

Frowning Harry asked, "Why is he allowed to be present?" indicating Draco who merely scowled and looked bored.

"Cause he's also being debriefed." Cho spoke up for the first time.

"Wha-, _you're_ the inside agent?" Harry asked disbelievingly.

"Someone's got to do the dirty work when Wonder Boy's keeping up with his press coverage." Draco smirked at Harry maddeningly.

Harry scowled at this reference to his ongoing publicity. His defeat of Voldemort in his seventh year had meant his celebrity status had only increased and even now, seven years later, he was still being pursued by reporters wanting interviews with 'The Boy Who Lived'.

"Minister, the veritaserum should really be administered before we continue." Percy interrupted in a plaintive voice.

Minister Powers nodded. "Ms Chang, if you wouldn't mind?"

Cho got up and pulled two small vials of clear potion from inside her robes. She handed Draco and him one each, then wordlessly sat down again. Harry tried to catch her eye but apparently she was still refusing to acknowledge him. He sighed. It seemed Cho had never really forgiven him for breaking up with her back when they were both still students at Hogwarts.

Harry swallowed the veritaserum in one gulp, feeling the slight acidic burn hit the back of his throat as it went down. Immediately he felt its effects as a willingness to co-operate spread over him.

Minister Powers looked at Percy who nodded, quill and parchment at the ready for scribing. The Minister waited a few more moments to allow the veritaserum to take effect and then indicated for Hermione to begin.

Hermione took a breath and began, "As you both know, we conducted a raid on an important Death Eater meeting, held by Lucius Malfoy at Malfoy Manor." Hermione's eyes flicked to Draco briefly, as did Harry's. He hadn't known the castle was Malfoy Manor.

"The raid wasn't as successful as we'd hoped for it to be, as you might have guessed, due to a miscalculation of the number of Death Eaters present at the meeting." She continued.

"However, the mission wasn't entirely a failure either as we managed to kill one Death Eater and apprehend two others while sustaining only one casualty on our side."

Harry frowned. A casualty? Does that mean someone was killed, or just seriously injured? He remembered seeing Angelina down from a curse meant for him. His frown deepened.

"What happened to my fa- the other Death Eaters?" Draco asked.

"They disapparated before we had a chance to arrest them." Hermione said to him. "Crabbe and Goyle Senior were the ones apprehended. They're awaiting trial at Azkaban right now. And Peter Pettigrew was the one killed. By your wand too Harry, from what Tonks reported to us." She directed at Harry.

Harry nodded. So Wormtail was dead. Good. The man who had betrayed his parents was finally dead and Harry was glad he was the one to do it. He was just sorry that Bellatrix Lestrange had gotten away, but he vowed to himself that he would also be the one to make her pay for murdering Sirius.

"The others have all been debriefed already, but they weren't able to give us much in the way of information." Hermione continued. "What we'd like you two to do is give a recount of the mission and any additional information you might have gathered."

She turned to Harry first and he obliged, recounting as much of the mission as he could remember. Hermione questioned him closely on the conversation he'd overheard, making him repeat the details over and over until he felt a tight ache at the back of his head that promised to become a migraine later on.

Finally she was satisfied and let him continue. "What happened when you got inside?" she asked.

"Well, they'd been alerted to our presence after Agent Tonks had knocked over a Devil's Snare plant that had attacked her, so our attack wasn't a complete surprise." He said. "Agent Johnson was hit as we entered and I saw Agent Finnigan down at one point as well."

"Whom were you fighting with?"

"Bellatrix Lestrange. I had hit Pettigrew earlier."

"What happened to Lestrange?"

"She was hit by Agent Tonks with a stray curse and disapparated before I'd had a chance to ki- arrest her." Harry corrected himself. He had been about to say 'killed' as there would have been no way he would have let Lestrange be sent to Azkhaban and the possibility of escape again.

Hermione gave a small frown but didn't force the issue. "Then what happened?"

"Lestrange's sudden disappearance had caught me by surprise. I was also momentarily distracted by distress I felt from Ginny. I must have been hit by Pettigrew from behind. That's all I remember." He finished.

"What do you mean 'distress you felt from Ms Weasly'?" Minister Powers inquired politely.

"Ginny is my magical sister." Harry explained. "We formed a magical bond that allows us to feel each other's emotions."

"Oh, so you were adopted into the Weasly family?" Minister Powers asked.

"Yes, although it wasn't welcomed by every member of the family." Harry said, giving Percy a hard look. He saw with some satisfaction, the colour rise in Percy's cheeks, but he otherwise gave no indication that he'd heard Harry's jibe.

Percy had been the only Weasly to oppose Harry and Ginny's bonding as siblings. He had protested against it on the grounds that Harry attracted trouble and would do no good for their family with regards to the Ministry. Of course there had been an uproar when he'd made this clear, Charlie and Bill had had quite a time trying to prevent the Twins and Ron from killing him outright. Ginny had nearly succeeded, with a well-aimed stoning curse.

There was a short silence broken only by the slight scratching of Percy's quill. Harry had the nagging suspicion that he had left out something important but he couldn't think of what that could be.

"Alright, thank you Harry." Hermione said. "We'd now like to hear your version of the events Mr. Malfoy."

Draco gave her a small sneer. "As you know, I was the 'inside agent' for this mission. I had been spying on my father and his associates for the Ministry of Magic."

"How long had you been spying on your father for?"

Draco hesitated.

"It's alright, you have clearance to reveal this information Mr. Malfoy." Minister Powers said. "We already know this information. We just need a record of you confirming."

Draco's eyes flicked to Cho, who gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"Five years." Draco finally said.

Harry gaped. Draco had been spying for the Ministry for that long? And before that? Harry remembered that Draco had been pulled out of Hogwarts at the end of their Sixth year. Everyone had assumed he'd left to join the Death Eaters 'training camp'.

"Who was your contact agent?" Hermione asked.

"My contact was Ms Cho Chang." Draco said, smirking slightly at Harry. Harry had expected that though and he took the news unequivocally.

Hermione nodded. "What were your orders for the night of the raid?" She asked.

"I was to find out how many Death Eaters there were, and to disable the wards for the Aurors."

"Except you gave us the wrong information." Harry interrupted accusingly.

Draco glared at him. "There were only five Death Eaters when I made my report. The others must have apparated in after I'd left. My father is not the most trustful of men, even with his own son. I was trying to keep Vin and Greg away when we heard sounds of the battle."

"Besides, the number of Death Eaters wouldn't have mattered that much if one of your Aurors hadn't been too clumsy to keep from being attacked by the house plants." Draco sneered.

"That had nothing to do with it!" Harry retorted angrily. "The numbers against us were a much bigger factor in the failure of the mission than Tonks knocking over a plant!"

"And why weren't you there in the room keeping an eye on the Death Eaters as you were assigned to do?" Harry demanded. "Seems to me, you were far more incompetent than Tonks was. Or rather, you'd conveniently left because you're really working _for your father_!"

"You really are a moron Potter. I wasn't in the room because I was trying to head off Vincent and Greg." Draco said in a cold voice.

"Who are…?" Minister Powers inquired.

"Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. They're the sons of the Crabbe and Goyle Seniors we currently have in custody Minister." Percy supplied pompously.

"That's right," Draco continued to glare at Harry, his eyes glittering furiously. "They're also my friends, and not Death Eaters any more than I am, if you'll believe that Potter."

Harry glared back. "No, I can't say I do."

"Agent Potter, Mr. Malfoy is telling the truth." Cho said in a neutral voice. "I can vouch for his loyalty completely."

"Perhaps, Mr. Malfoy could give some proof that he isn't a Death Eater so as to satisfy Mr. Potter and the rest of us?" Minister Powers inquired.

Draco scowled but sat up and pushed up the sleeve on his right arm. Hermione gasped at the sight of the swollen Dark Mark on his inner forearm.

"I knew it!" Harry said triumphantly. "I knew he was a Death-" He trailed off as Draco touched the mark with his wand and the tattoo immediately began to fade. Within seconds there was no trace of it left. Draco's forearm was completely bare and unscarred.

"What the- How did you do that?" Harry demanded.

Draco smirked. "Glamour Charm Potter. Even a simpleton like you should know what that is."

"A Glamour Charm? Very impressive Mr. Malfoy." Minister Powers said.

"How did you know when he summoned you though?" Hermione asked frowning.

"Cunning and luck mostly." Draco shrugged. "Snape warned me when he was summoned and I would usually check with my father. I wasn't high up enough in the ranks to warrant much in the way of a personal audience."

Harry was stunned. Just the thought that Draco had gone around so blatantly deceiving Voldemort made his hair stand on end. He knew the casual statement hid years of knife-edge fear and despite himself, he felt his respect for Draco rise.

"That was a very risky thing to do." Harry said quietly.

He saw a momentary flash of surprise in Draco's eyes at the lack of a biting remark from Harry but it was gone in an instant, to be replaced by Draco's customary sneer. "Like I said, someone had to do the dirty work."

Harry nodded. "You probably helped me in defeating him then, so I guess I believe that you aren't a Death Eater. But that doesn't mean I trust you now. You might have given proof that you didn't work for Voldemort, but you haven't given any to prove that you're not working for your father."

Hermione shot him an exasperated look.

Draco rolled his eyes. "I give up in the face of your idiocy Potter."

The Minister smiled. "Alright, I believe that's all gentlemen. Mr. Malfoy, since your cover was blown, I suggest you report back to your superiors and be reassigned once you're well enough. Mr. Potter, I will leave you with Ms Granger to also be reassigned."

"Who else was hit?" Harry asked impulsively, as the Minister prepared to leave.

Percy shot Harry an annoyed look for daring to talk to the Minister directly. "Agent Finnigan was the one hit. He was dead by the time reinforcements arrived." He informed Harry in clipped tones.

Harry felt his stomach sink. Seamus! _Seamus was gone_. His friend since the first day of Hogwarts and one of the closest people in his life. He couldn't believe it. Couldn't believe that he was never going to be on another assignment with him again. Couldn't believe that they were never going to joke and share a laugh together again.

In a flash Harry remembered Cedric Diggory's death back in his Fourth Year of Hogwarts. His pale, limp body. His blank, unseeing eyes. There had been many other deaths Harry had witnessed since then, both during and after the War, but Cedric's had been the first for him. He could still remember the grey bleakness that had descended on him after that. Of being faced with the terrible knowledge that innocent people were the first ones to die.

And once again, Harry was faced with another death. Another loved one. He wondered wearily when this would stop. When he would stop being the one who carries on while others died.

He felt Draco's stare and Hermione's worry but he chose to ignore them. He didn't want to see their contempt or their pity.

"Good day gentlemen." The Minister smiled again, unaware of Harry's inner turmoil, and left in a flurry of robes, with Percy and Cho in tow.

Hermione got up too, saying in a stilted manner, "I have to go into the Ministry to make a report. Then I have to go and supervise the questioning of Crabbe and Goyle in Azkaban." She shivered slightly at the thought.

"You're on leave until you're discharged Harry." She said coming to his side of the bed. "I'm really sorry about Seamus. I know he was a good friend of yours. He was a good friend of mine too."

Harry nodded. He knew Hermione was sincere and only wanted to help, but he didn't want to think about Seamus' death right now. It was still too new for him to think about it calmly, and he didn't want to embarrass himself with Draco Malfoy in the room.

"What's wrong with me?" He asked in a quiet voice. Draco ignored them.

"The Mediwitches don't really know what curse you were hit with. They said it must have been a very powerful one to be able to knock you out like that. They had to drain off the excess magical shock as quickly as possible when we brought you in, otherwise you would have magically bled to death. We were only just in time too. But other than that, they said there was nothing wrong with you that they could find." She said.

"So why am I still here?" he asked.

"Well, the Mediwitches said they want to keep you here for observation for a few days. Apparently the effects of some curses don't manifest themselves for a while." Hermione explained. "Don't worry, I'll have a look in the Ministry library to try and find out what sort of curse it was."

"How do you know what curse I was hit with if there are no symptoms?" Harry asked.

"Ginny told me the name. She said she felt it when you were hit and apparently she got the name from what you heard." Hermione said.

"Huh? I didn't know she could do that." Harry said puzzled.

Hermione shrugged. "Must be another side effect of the sibling bond."

Harry nodded slowly. "So what was the curse?"

"Tre Dekavra."

"Never heard of it." Harry said.

"Me either. But don't worry, I'll find out what it is." Hermione said reassuringly.

"What about Malfoy?" Harry asked, glancing over at the other bed. Draco had pointedly turned the other way and had his back to Harry.

"He was hit with a few curses, but nothing too serious. He should be discharged soon." Hermione replied quietly.

"Malfoy gets to leave and I don't?" Harry asked sullenly. "How can you be so sure he's working for us anyway? Who's to say he's not spying on the Ministry for his father? I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him."

Hermione gave him a funny look. "I don't think he would so openly risk his father and their operations if he was spying for his father Harry."

Harry snorted. "Well, then it was stupid of him to blow his cover like that."

"Harry," Hermione said quietly, "He blew his cover to save you."

"What?"

"Draco Malfoy saved your life."


	3. An Unexpected Visitor Or Two

**Chapter Three – An Unexpected Visitor Or Two**

_6th November_

Harry wasn't having a good day. Actually, he wasn't having a good week. It was bad enough to find out that Draco Malfoy, of all people, had saved his life, but it seemed Draco was intent on rubbing it in.

Barely half an hour after Hermione had left, Harry had choked on a piece of carrot during lunch. Draco had looked amused and had waited until Harry had turned a dangerous shade of purple before he'd casually slapped him on the back, with what Harry had thought, was more force than was strictly necessary.

The offending piece of vegetable had flown out in a graceful arc to land on the floor, which a house elf had promptly removed. And Draco had drawled in a maddeningly condescending voice "Instead of Death Eaters, Voldemort should have just used a stray vegetable to off the Boy Who Won't Die". Harry was left seething.

But now Harry had been discharged and he was back at home with the sting of humiliation, slowly ebbing. 'Home' these days was a modest apartment in the trendy area of downtown London. He had sold Twelve Grimmauld Place as soon as he'd come of age as the place had reminded him too much of Sirius and his loss.

Harry had to admit that he didn't have much taste when it came to furnishings but with Ginny and Hermione's help, the apartment though not stylish, had a warm, comfortable feel to it that reminded Harry very much of The Burrow and the pleasant memories associated with that place.

The one peculiar thing about his apartment was that it had no cupboards. Years of living with the Dursleys had given him a horror of them and the first thing he'd done when he'd taken possession of the place was to order all of the cupboards to be ripped out. He'd replaced them with shelves which not only saved space but also meant everything was easily accessible It made dusting a hell of a job though.

Today however, housekeeping was far from his mind as he sat gazing out the window, which took up one whole wall of his living room, towards the bustle of shoppers below. He had a Green Day CD softly playing in the background. As Harry had been Muggle-raised, he'd furnished his apartment with many of the labour saving devices Muggles held essential, and his state of the art entertainment system had been his proudest, not to mention most expensive, purchase to date.

Currently the television was set to the news but the sound had been muted. Harry got up lazily and went into kitchen to make himself a hot chocolate. Considering a moment, he decided to make another one for whoever was coming to check up on him today. He had been home for two days now and he'd had Weaslys drop in at least twice a day to make sure he was alright, and he didn't see why today would be any different.

Sure enough, he heard a 'pop' as someone apparated in. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was two o'clock. Right on time he thought wryly. It was probably Ginny again. She was becoming as bad as Molly in her mothering of him.

Carrying the mugs of hot chocolate out with him Harry said in a teasing voice, "You know you really shouldn't apparate in like that Gin. I could be walking around naked."

"That's way too much information, mate." came Ron's disgusted voice.

"Ron!" Harry exclaimed. "I didn't know you were coming! I thought you were Ginny."

Ron grinned at Harry "She's taken the day off from babysitting you and Bills' at work, so it fell to me to make sure 'icky-Harrykins' was eating properly." He mocked, holding out a package to Harry. "Mum baked muffins."

Harry rolled his eyes. "She does know I'm 24 right? She's more than made up on the mothering I missed out on with the Dursleys."

"I reckon she's just still excited about you becoming a proper part of the family." Ron said taking a sip of the hot chocolate Harry had handed him.

"I've always been a part of your family though." Harry said, flopping onto the couch.

Ron shrugged. "You know what I mean. With you bonding with Ginny and all."

"Ron, don't say it like that."

Ron grinned. "Well it _is_ still a magical bond. Just because you guys aren't married and aren't shagging doesn't mean you aren't as close as two people could possibly be."

"Ron, she's your sister!" Harry groaned.

"She's your sister too!" Ron retorted. "I remember mum running around hugging everyone when she found out. Still does that to Ginny sometimes."

"But we became siblings three years ago." Harry said bemused.

Ron rolled his eyes, "You know mum. Couldn't have happier if you really had married Ginny. Though she was a bit disappointed that you didn't at the time."

Harry felt uncomfortable. It had taken him and Ginny many years to figure out what they felt for each other, and while he was perfectly happy with the way things had turned out and knew they'd done the right thing, it had still been incredibly awkward at the time.

Changing the topic, Harry turned to Ron happily "It's great to see you again Ron. How are things in the world of Quidditch?" Ron was a reporter for The Quidditch Weekly and Harry was always interested in the happenings of the sport he loved so much.

Ron grinned. "Yeah, it's fantastic to see you again mate. Work is great. I'm going on tour with Puddlemere soon. Do you remember Oliver Wood?" Harry nodded. How could he forget his old Quidditch obsessed captain?

"Well, he's their star player and captain now would you believe? I've got an exclusive interview with him."

"That's brilliant Ron!" Harry enthused.

Ron blushed modestly. "So what about you Harry? I heard about what happened with Malfoy."

"You did?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Course I did. Ginny told me. I went to Seamus' funeral and everything."

"Oh." Harry replied dully. "That." He'd thought Ron had found out about Draco saving his life, but he hardly found this topic less depressing. He hadn't been at Seamus' funeral of course as he had been lying in St Mungo's at the time.

"I couldn't believe it when I heard." Ron continued sadly. "He was a good friend. I guess it's just you and me left from the old dorm now huh?"

Harry nodded mutely. Out of the five boys who'd shared his dorm back at Hogwarts three had died. Death Eaters had killed Dean early on in the War during the first wave of attacks on Hogwarts. Neville had also been killed during the War. He had died a hero surprisingly as he'd put himself at risk trying to save a group of Muggle children. And now Seamus was gone too.

"So many people have died because of Voldemort and what he did with his Death Eaters." Harry whispered.

"They died so future generations wouldn't also live with the fear that we had to." Ron said gently.

"Was it worth all those lives though? Is even one innocent life worth paying to stop that evil?" Harry asked in an anguished voice.

"Yes." Ron said firmly. "You did the right thing Harry."

"Nothing is too much to pay for the end of You Kno- Voldemort's reign of terror. I didn't use to believe it, especially when Fred and George died, but I do now." Ron continued quietly.

They sat in silence for a while. The sounds of the mid afternoon drifting up towards them as the CD skipped to a Coldplay track.

"Malfoy saved my life." For a few seconds Harry was surprised, but then he realized that he was the one who had said it.

"Lucius Malfoy saved your life?" Ron asked incredulously.

"No. Draco Malfoy." Harry replied tonelessly.

"Really? He's still alive then?"

Harry gave Ron a questioning look "Yes, shouldn't he be?"

Ron shrugged, taking a bite out of a pumpkin muffin from the package Harry had opened. "Well, I'd always figured he'd joined the Death Eaters and be killed by now, being the git that he is." Ron said casually around a mouthful of muffin.

Harry frowned. "That's what I always thought too. But it turns out he's not a Death Eater at all. Never has been. He's working for the Ministry in fact."

Ron choked. "Are you having me on or what?" he spluttered.

Harry grinned. "Nope. Turns out he's been spying on his father for us for years."

Ron's jaw dropped, a piece of half chewed muffin falling out of his open mouth to land on the carpet. Harry gave a snort of exasperation and cleaned up the mess with a flick of his wand. Ron didn't seem to notice.

"So how'd he save your life?" Ron asked him faintly.

Harry gave a half shrug and reached for a muffin for himself. "He saved me twice actually." He said slowly. "The first time was when we attacked the Death Eaters. He got me out of there after I'd been hit. And the second time was from a…"

"A what?" Ron asked "A vampire? A werewolf? A Hippogriff?"

"Erm… it was a piece of carrot actually." Harry said sheepishly.

"It's _not_ that funny Ron!" Harry cried crossly as Ron collapsed on the sofa in hysterics, spewing muffin everywhere.

"Yes…it…is..!" Ron gasped. "Oh Merlin! Can you imagine the headlines? 'Boy Who Lived Aspirated By Vegetable!' The papers would have a field day. You're just lucky You Know Who didn't know of this weakness of yours." Ron giggled, wiping tears from his eyes.

Harry looked offended. "That's what Malfoy said. Besides, it was an accident." He insisted.

Seeing that Ron was still giggling and didn't look like stopping anytime soon, Harry threw a cushion at him, getting Ron on the side of his head.

"Grow up Weasly!" Harry said in his best imitation of Snape and laughed along with Ron.

-----

With Ron's arrival, Harry managed to forget about his lousy Malfoy involved week. Fate however, turned out to be a sadistic bastard.

Harry and Ron had just settled down to some pizza and a game of Wizard's Chess when Harry's wards alerted him to people approaching, and a minute later he heard a knock on his door.

"I wonder who that could be?" he asked aloud. His wards had been set to only allow Ron, Hermione and Ginny to apparate directly in.

Ron shrugged, mouth full of pizza. "I believe the 'go and see' method works well."

"Prat." Harry grumbled, grinning.

He opened to a harassed looking Hermione and an absolutely furious looking Draco.

"Malfoy?" Harry asked confused.

"Potter." Draco ground out. Harry's gaze hardened.

"Hi Harry." Hermione said nervously. "Can we come in?"

Against his better judgment, Harry opened the door wider to let them in.

"Hermione! You came at a good time, we have piz- what is _he_ doing here?" Ron asked scowling.

"Just what I was about to ask." Harry replied, giving Draco a filthy look.

"Believe me, I'm here against my will." Draco said icily.

Hermione sighed. "Guys, could you please try and be civil for one minute so I can explain? We're not at school anymore you know."

Her words seemed ineffectual though as neither the Gryffindors nor the Slytherin ceased their hostilities. In fact, their glares only intensified.

"Alright, so explain." Harry said finally. "What's he doing here?"

"Malfoy's been… reassigned." Hermione began slowly.

"Yeah, and…?"

"And his new assignment is… you." She finished lamely, giving Harry a fearful look.

"_What!_"

Hermione winced.

"What do you mean his new assignment is _me_?" Harry demanded.

Ron stood with mouth agape, nodding fervently in agreement.

Hermione sighed. "It's to do with the curse you were hit with by Wormtail."

"The one Ginny told you about." Harry said flatly.

"Right." Hermione agreed. "We found out what it was and we have reason to believe that Malfoy would be the best person to assign for this job."

"How do you figure _that_?" Ron exclaimed.

"It has something to do with the nature of the curse." Hermione explained.

"Which is what…?" Harry asked.

Hermione shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry Harry but I can't tell you that. The Ministry has classified that information."

"_What?_" Both Harry and Ron cried.

"My life is in danger and the Ministry won't even tell me why?" Harry protested.

"Well, we're hoping you won't be in danger any longer with Malfoy here." Hermione said.

"Again, how do you figure that?" Ron asked, giving Draco a dark look.

"But why him? Why not… well, why not _anyone else_ but him?" Harry asked beseechingly.

"I can't tell you that Harry." Hermione said helplessly. "But I can assure you there's a good reason for it being Malfoy."

"Hermione! You are making me want to hurt something!" Harry raged in frustration.

"Oh shut it with the melodrama, Potter." Draco snapped.

Harry blinked, stunned.

"Hey! Don't talk to Harry like that!" Ron exclaimed angrily.

"Potter's my assignment, I can talk to him how I liked." Draco sneered back.

"I'm not your stupid assignment! I can take care of myself!" Harry snapped.

"Sure you can, Potter. You took care of yourself so well that you got yourself cursed in the first place." Draco retorted sarcastically.

"Harry, it's really not that bad. He won't be staying for long." Hermione told him soothingly, as Ron moved to prevent Harry from strangling Draco.

"And he really is very well qualified for the job", she continued reasonably.

"Are you _defending_ Malfoy, Hermione?" Ron asked incredulously above Harry's squeak of "I am too!" Hermione coloured.

"Leave her alone Weasly. She's just doing her job." Draco growled.

Ron looked like a Blast Ended Skrewt had just kissed him. Had Draco Malfoy just _defended_ Hermione?

"This isn't Malfoy!" Ron exclaimed hysterically. "It's a Polyjuiced Death Eater out to get you Harry!"

"Oh Ron, don't be silly!" Hermione said crossly. "Of course it's Malfoy. Do you really think the Ministry wouldn't check for Polyjuice Potion?"

"But he could have gotten around that somehow." Ron protested. "He just doesn't _act_ like Malfoy."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Is this proof enough for you Weasly?" He drawled as he rolled up the sleeves of his robes to show his bare forearm, just as he'd done when Harry had accused him in St Mugo's.

Ron still looked unconvinced.

"He's not a Death Eater Ron, but that's beside the point." Harry interrupted. "The point is that I don't need a babysitter, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of my- _did you just say Malfoy is to stay here_?" He demanded shrilly turning to Hermione.

Hermione nodded sheepishly.

"_Here_ with _me_?"

Nod.

"Here in my _apartment_?"

Nod.

Draco rolled his eyes again. "Yes, Potter. Your powers of deduction never cease to amaze me."

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" Harry asked him bitterly.

Draco snorted. "Yes, I absolutely _adore_ the idea of babysitting Wonder Boy."

"Leave me alone." Harry muttered.

"Believe me, there's nothing I'd like better. But apparently, even my threats of murdering you aren't enough to get me out of this assignment."

"Like you'd get close enough to Harry for that." Ron scoffed.

"Oh per-lease Weasly. Can your faith in Potter's skills be any more misguided?" Draco said sarcastically. "If a half competent wizard like Pettigrew could curse Potter, do you really think I couldn't with all my knowledge of the Dark Arts? Potter wouldn't even know what hit him."

"Trust you to know of the Dark Arts Malfoy." Harry said scornfully.

"Yeah, and Harry's one of the best Aurors there is. He defeated You Know Who before he'd even graduated from Hogwarts." Ron defended angrily.

"Unlike your family Weasly, we don't all have shrines to Potter's dumb luck." Draco sneered condescendingly.

This time Harry was the one who had to hold Ron back from launching against Draco.

"At least I still have a family!" Ron said wildly. Draco flushed angrily.

"Ron, it's ok. Calm down." Harry said as Ron struggled to reach Draco.

"Are you going to let that Slytherin git talk about you like that?" Ron demanded.

"Like I said before, I can talk to Potter how I like since he's under my protection now." Draco said, emphasizing 'protection', as if it was a threat.

"And I said I don't need your protection." Harry said through gritted teeth.

"Harry, please..." Hermione began.

"There's no way I'm letting Malfoy stay with me." Harry stated in what he hoped was an authoritative voice.

"I'm afraid you have no choice." Hermione said firmly. "Either of you."

Harry gave her a pleading look. "Isn't there anything you can do Mione?"

Hermione shook her head apologetically. "This really is for your own good Harry."

-----

Harry felt defeated. It seemed there was nothing he could do to keep Draco Malfoy out of his apartment, his life.

His hateful nemesis seemed to sense this as he pushed past Harry to make himself at home.

"Well, I should get back to work." Hermione said brightly, apparently congratulating herself on having managed to deliver the news without ending up with a homicide on her hands. "Harry you're on leave from further assignments until the threat to your life has been removed. Um, so Malfoy will make sure of that."

Harry took that to meant that he was going to have nothing to do (and thereby be at Draco's mercy) until Draco decided otherwise.

"Fine." He said grumpily. He felt like throwing something at her, but it really wasn't Hermione's fault. And he didn't want to take it out on his friend. Harry grimaced, realizing that was probably exactly why the Ministry had decided to send her with Draco.

If Malfoy had shown up by himself, Harry would have probably just hexed him and sent him on his way back to St Mungo's. Ron would probably have provided the body bag. That thought cheered him up slightly. Seeing this, Hermione brightened and giving him and Ron each a quick kiss, hastened away.

"Well, I should go too." Ron said apologetically. "I promised mum I'd report to her on how you're doing. I'll see you again when I come back from the tour ok mate?"

Harry nodded glumly. Ron patted him on the back sympathetically and left via the door.

There was a shriek from the guest room. Sighing, Harry went to have a look. He found Draco standing in the middle of the room, a look of outrage on his face.

"What the hell is this Potter?" He indicated, sweeping a hand around the room. "Is this some weird fetish of yours? Are you secretly a cross-dresser or something?"

Harry smiled wryly, "Ginny stops here sometimes."

He looked around the room and had to admit that although Ginny didn't stay over very often, the décor had definitely begun leaning towards the feminine over the years.

While she hadn't painted the walls pink or anything, she had added a dresser, which was still littered with cosmetics and a musical jewellery box, he had given her for her birthday a few years ago. In addition, she had transfigured the sheets to the frilly type, with red and gold heart prints on it. The bed was also liberally covered with a host of Ginny's soft toys, including to Harry's continued embarrassment, a 'Prince Harry' doll.

Seeing the doll, Draco's face changed, "And what is _this_?"

Harry felt his cheeks warm, "Um, it's a Harry doll. Ginny's had it since she was five."

Draco gave the doll a scrutinizing look. "They took some liberties in enhancing your looks didn't they?"

"Shut up." Harry muttered, mortified.

Draco grinned at him. "Well, I can't stay here. There's no way I'm putting my masculinity at risk by surrounding myself with this girlie décor."

"Well it's the only room available." Harry said irritably.

Draco gave him a calculating look "There's always your room Potter."

"What? No way! Hey! You can't go in there!" Harry cried as Draco ignored him and swept into his room.

Draco surveyed the room critically, grey eyes ranging around the sparsely furnished, but well proportioned room.

"You're not good with decorating are you?" He asked finally.

"No, I've never thought it was that important." Harry admitted.

Draco gave him an incredulous look. "And how long have you lived here for?"

"Er, five years." Harry replied.

"_Really_? It looks like you've just moved in. Fell on some hard times did you?"

Harry scowled. "I don't like clutter."

"Obviously." Draco said. "What's with the shelves Potter?" he asked, looking at the many shelves in place of the wardrobe against one of the walls.

"I er, don't like cupboards."

Draco raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Why's that?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business." Harry replied rudely.

"If I'm going to protect you, then you're going to have to tell me anything I ask you in order for me to do my job properly." Draco said calmly.

Harry gave up. "My uncle and aunt used to lock me in a cupboard when I was younger. They didn't like me enough to give me a proper bedroom."

Draco frowned. "So the rumours were true. No wonder you turned out as screwed up as you did."

Harry gave him a dirty look. Draco grinned. "Don't worry Potter, even I'm charitable to the disabled. And I think your room will do nicely."

-----

Harry stood under the shower for a good hour, letting the water ease the tension in his body. He was thinking of Seamus again. But somehow under the hot water mingled with tears, the knowledge of his friend's death didn't seem as awful. He'd thought a lot about Seamus in the past few days, and all the other friends he'd lost during the War.

He felt tired. It was as if every death took a bit more of him to grieve for them. So the more deaths, the less of Harry he was left with.

Ginny had tried to share some of his grief when they'd first bonded, but Harry hadn't really wanted anyone else to feel his pain for him. He didn't think Ginny could bear it.

He stepped out of the shower dripping and padded to his room in bare feet, hitching up a towel around his waist. He rarely bothered to towel off as he enjoyed the feeling of the little rivulets of water snaking across his flesh.

He began to absently hunt for a clean shirt when he heard a sharp intake of breath behind him.

"Potter! Is this your way of trying to seduce me?"

Harry whirled around to find Draco looking at him in amusement from where he'd been lying on his bed. He had completely forgotten about Draco and how he'd taken over his room.

"I er, was just looking for some clothes." He stammered.

"Well could you please try and do it without traumatizing me? I'm going to have to wash out my eyes."

Harry blushed, suddenly aware that he had nothing on except a large bath towel, which wasn't all that large when on him.

However, Draco's tone seemed to lack it's customary bite and he seemed to be staring rather intently at Harry's chest.

Harry couldn't see Draco's face properly without his glasses but he thought he could make out a glint of…something in the blond's grey eyes. Something he wasn't altogether comfortable with and yet made him feel oddly entranced. He seemed to be lost in those silver depths, even as those full lips twisted in a slight sneer.

Sanity returned when he remembered that this was _Draco Malfoy_, and with it a spurt of indignation. This was _his_ room after all! But he felt at a certain disadvantage being almost naked around Draco who could disturb Harry even when he was fully clothed.

So deciding he'd humiliated himself enough and that retreat was the most sensible option, Harry mustered what dignity he had left and stalked from the room, Draco's snigger following him from behind. Outside, Harry decided he needed another shower.

-----

"Are you sure?" Harry asked dubiously, looking around.

"Trust me, the food is good. I've been here before." Draco said, ducking as he entered the dimly lit restaurant.

Harry followed to find they were in a cavernous room dotted with tables covered with cheap, checkered tablecloths. The place was much darker than he'd expected it to be, with only the candles in the tables and a few strategically placed wall lamps, illuminating the large room.

The atmosphere created seemed more for shady dealings than romantic rendezvous though, which didn't necessarily make Harry feel more at ease.

Draco however, seemed oblivious as he made his way purposefully towards one of the tables against the wall. It had been his idea that they go out to dinner when Harry had found to his dismay that there wasn't any food in his apartment.

To Harry's surprise, Draco had chosen to venture into Muggle London instead of Daigon Alley. The Draco he had known at Hogwarts wouldn't have dreamt of stepping foot into a Muggle establishment willingly, let alone be able to discern between different types of Muggle cuisine.

However, when Draco had stopped in front of this dingy Italian restaurant after passing several more reputable places, Harry began to think that perhaps Draco wasn't as adept at navigating through Muggle society as he'd thought.

A waitress of around fifty approached their table in a uniform, which looked like it had belonged to her mother. Her name tag had 'Lorraine' printed on it.

"What can I get you loveys?" She asked them in a guttural voice, indicative of a pack-a-day smoker.

Draco looked up from his perusal of the plastic menu and gave the waitress a winning smile.

Harry blinked. He had never seen Draco smile like that before, and it was rather disconcerting to note how much more beautiful he looked. He could feel Lorraine thawing under its power as Draco asked sweetly, "What's the special?"

"Soupe d'Auverge au Fromage followed by Rojoes Cominho." was the reply.

Draco gave Harry an enquiring look.

"Sounds great." He said, not having the foggiest what he was agreeing to.

"Two specials please. And a carafe of mineral water." Draco ordered.

Lorraine scribbled something in a pad and left, only to return with some bent cutlery a few minutes later.

"Do you come here often?" Harry asked.

"I used to come here almost everyday." Draco replied absently, casually casting a privacy charm around their table, which would make it difficult for anyone to make out their conversation.

"The staff don't seem to recognize you." Harry observed.

Draco shrugged as Lorraine approached with their meal. "I usually obliviate Lorraine before I leave, just in case I'm being followed and someone unwelcome tries to find out my routine."

"Then why keep coming back here? Surely there are better places?"

"Not for pasta there isn't." Draco replied, giving Harry a look that suggested he was stupid not to have known that. "And I'm a pasta freak."

"Well, well." Harry murmured, ignoring Draco's look. "Who knew there'd be a day when a Malfoy would be addicted to Muggle food?"

"It was always considered character building for Malfoys to mingle with the commoners every now and then." Draco replied haughtily.

Harry grinned.

"Since when did you become so tolerant of Muggle society? You were even civil to Hermione before." He asked, shooting Draco an enquiring look.

There was silence for so long that Harry thought Draco must not have heard him and was about to open his mouth to ask again when Draco spoke.

"Since Natalie."

Harry blinked in surprise. "Who's she?" There hadn't been a Natalie in their year from what he could recall.

"She was my Charms Professor." Draco replied shortly.

"Charms Professor? But we only ever had Flit-"

"I meant she was my Charms Professor _after_ I left Hogwarts. Well, Charms tutor if you like." Draco said rolling his eyes.

"So what happened then? Did she charm you into liking Muggles or something?"

Draco gave him a pointed look to which Harry just shrugged and grinned.

Draco sighed in a resigned manner.

"If you must know, she was a witch, but a Muggle born one. Yes, just like Granger." He said, rolling his eyes at Harry's surprise.

"She was brilliant though. Smart and sassy. And she never took any 'Mudblood' crap from me." Draco gave a short laugh.

"She was a researcher for the American Ministry of Magic, but she had a fascination with the Dark arts that bordered on the messianic. Taught me a lot in that area too. More so than my father would ever believe." Draco grinned.

"In fact, the Charms thing soon became a front for the lessons in the Dark Arts we used to have. Consequently, I only got an E for my Charms NEWTs, but an O+ for my Defence Against the Dark Arts NEWTs."

"I didn't realize you could get plusses in NEWTs!"

Draco smirked. "You could if you could _imperio_ Dark creatures."

Harry felt impressed. No wonder Draco had been an undercover agent for the Unspeakables. His Auror skills must be amazing with that kind of training. Yet Harry couldn't shake the feeling that those skills would also be deadly to them if Draco ever decided to switch sides.

Shaking off that thought, Harry gave Draco a mischievous smile and said teasingly "Sounds like you had a crush on her."

Draco scowled. "It wasn't like that Potter. I admit she contributed a lot to changing my attitudes towards the Dark Arts and Muggles, and even the whole 'pureblood superiority complex' I had. But I had already begun having doubts about Voldemort's ideology – and sanity. She just… made me see that to have an interest in, and to use, the Dark Arts did not necessarily mean the wizard or witch doing it had to be Dark themselves."

"So that's why you began spying for the Order." Harry mused out loud.

"That's why I began spying for the Order."

They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes. The fact that it was companionable surprised Harry. Since when had Draco become tolerable? Not that he minded. It was rather… pleasant, when they weren't constantly sniping at each other.

However, his curiosity got the better of him and he couldn't resist snooping. "So what happened to her?" He asked in what he hoped was a casual voice. "I mean, do you guys still keep in touch?"

"You're very nosy, you know that Potter?" Draco grumbled. Harry just grinned. He knew.

"She eloped actually. She was only 21 at the time but she said she couldn't imagine life without 'Brettles'. She said she 'needed' him and he needed her." Draco scoffed. "I asked her, begged her actually, not to leave me. When I told her I needed her too, she just smiled at me sadly and told me one day I will understand what she felt cause I would feel it too."

Harry caught his breath at these words. He knew what it must have costed Draco to admit something like that to him and he cursed himself for pursuing the subject.

"She paid for leaving me though. No one ever pities a Malfoy and not suffer the consequences for it. I managed to curse 'Brettles' with a _Premature Ejaculatus_ curse before they left." Draco continued with bitter satisfaction.

Draco sounded so distant and yet so vulnerable that Harry's heart went out to him and without thinking Harry reached out and put his hand over Draco's.

"She was right you know." He said quietly. "There'll be other girls and one day you'll also find someone _you'll_ want to elope with."

Draco came out of his reverie and seemed to notice his hand clasped in Harry's for the first time. Raising an eyebrow Draco drawled in an amused voice. "And there'll be other boys too." His amusement increased at Harry's stunned expression.

Harry snatched his hand back as if burnt and stammered. "You… you're a… you mean you're a… shirtlifter?"

Draco gave him one incredulous look and burst out laughing.

"You… what… shirtlifter..!" Harry blushed as Draco howled and pounded on the table with his fist.

"Well, what do you call it then?" he snapped, irritated. Surely it wasn't _that_ an uncommon term?

"Oh Merlin!" Draco gasped wiping tears from his eyes. "I must say, I've been called a lot of things in my life but never _that_. You really can be quite hilarious when you don't try Potter."

Harry blushed again, unsure whether Draco had just complimented him.

"But to answer your question, yes I do prefer men."

"Oh." Harry didn't know what to say. He had never considered that Draco might be gay but now that he did, a lot of things he'd noticed about the blond began to fall into place. Like the constant grooming.

"Well, er, that's good. I mean, that's fine. I'm fine with that." He stammered.

Draco rolled his eyes, "I don't need your approval Potter."

Harry decided to shut up.

The food turned out to be as good as Draco had promised. Draco had ordered a bottle of wine with their meal and Harry could feel himself steadily becoming tipsy. They didn't talk much during the meal, but the silence wasn't strained but rather companionable, which was probably the influence of the wine.

It was also probably the wine that made Harry notice the faint flush on Draco's cheeks that seemed to make his eyes more alive. Draco saw him looking and raised one aristocratic eyebrow, "Something stuck in my teeth Potter?"

"No, I was just wondering why the Ministry would assign you of all people to protect me." Harry said. "No offence or anything."

Draco rolled his eyes at that. "Someone in the Ministry must have a twisted sense of humour."

"But I don't think it was random chance that you were assigned to me. Hermione made it sound like there was a reason that it was you especially. What did they say when they gave you your assignment parameters?"

Draco shrugged, and took a sip of his wine contemplatively. "I don't know any more than you really. All they said was that I was to protect you from anything I perceived as dangerous, while unhelpfully leaving out the 'what, where and how.'"

"What about the 'whom'?"

"Well, they didn't tell me that either, but I think I have an idea of who they might be trying to protect you from."

"You think it has something to do with the raid we conducted on the Death Eater meeting."

"Correct. I think the Death Eaters led by my father have targeted you. So it would be wise to assume that any attack would be coming from them. We just don't know 'how, when or why'."

"It wouldn't be the first time I was on the Death Eater hit list." Harry muttered.

Draco's lip twitched. "I don't think you ever left the top ten list."

Harry rolled his eyes, then grew serious. "If you're going to protect me then I'm going to have to trust you. So I need to know where your loyalties lie if it ever came to choosing between your father and protecting me."

Draco looked back at him equally seriously, without any anger at Harry's implied insult or any trace of his usual smirk.

"I may have acted in a way which would have made you question me before Harry, but I don't think you would have accepted me as your protector if you didn't trust me, no matter what the Ministry ordered. So all I can do is give you my word that I will do my job."

Harry looked into Draco's eyes, all of a sudden such a solemn shade of grey, and he knew the other boy was right. He did trust him. Vaguely Harry registered that Draco's use of his first name was surprising but not really unpleasant.

"Alright. I trust you. But you've got to trust me too. I'm also a trained Auror and I want to be told everything you are. Otherwise I'm not going through with this."

Draco gave an unsmiling nod. "I can accept that."

Harry relaxed again. "So any idea on that 'how, what and why'?"

Draco looked thoughtful. "Tell me about the curse you were hit with again."

Harry immediately saw what he was getting at as he remembered Hermione saying that him being in danger had something to do with the curse Wormtail had hit him with.

"I don't actually remember it but the curse was called _Tre Dekavra_."

"I've never heard of it." Draco said frowning. "Where would Granger have found out about that curse from?"

"Ministry libraries I suppose. She has a special grant for the Restricted Dark Arts section." Harry replied.

Draco looked mildly impressed and faintly insulted at the same time.

"I was never given a permanent grant to study there." He muttered half to himself.

"Why not?" Harry asked, curious.

Draco gave him a cool look, "The Ministry doesn't trust such knowledge in the hands of a Death Eater spy. No matter how gifted they are." He said in measured tones.

"Oh."

"But I think I have a better way of finding out about this curse." He continued.

"Which is…?"

"I'll owl Professor Snape. If anyone would know, then he'd know."

"And what makes you think Snape would want to help us? Especially me?" Harry asked, thinking of his old potions professor.

Draco smirked. "Because he's my godfather, Potter."

"Oh, right." Harry said, slurring his words a bit.

He reached for his glass again and accidentally knocked it over, the wine spreading to rapidly stain the already cherry coloured tablecloth.

Lorraine came over to clean it up, casting a disapproving look at Harry. "Sorry." He muttered, feeling his cheeks heat up.

"You have absolutely no head for wine, Potter." Draco laughed.

"Just red wine. I can do white fine." Harry defended.

"Somehow I doubt that if you're like this after only one glass of red." Draco teased.

Harry made a face at him, which made Draco laugh again.

They paid and left after Draco gave Lorraine another beaming smile, which she returned before glaring at Harry. Draco then promptly obliviated her memory.

"That can't be healthy for her." Harry commented as they stumbled out into the cool London night. Draco shrugged.

Annoyingly he still seemed to be perfectly sober despite having practically finished off the whole bottle, minus Harry's one glass. Harry noted that Draco gave the area around them an automatic scan with those piercing grey eyes that missed nothing, as he himself tried to keep from swaying on his feet.

"Let's go." Draco said shortly.

They apparated to the outside of Harry's apartment, with a slight stagger. Harry watched blearily as Draco disabled his wards with ease, much to his chagrin.

"Your wards are pathetic Potter." Draco informed him.

"Shut up." Harry mumbled, too tired and drunk to argue.

He walked into his bedroom without turning on the light and then realized belatedly that it wasn't _his_ bedroom anymore. He turned around to retrace his steps only to find Draco leaning against the doorframe, his silhouette outlined by the light shining from the living room.

"I seem to keep forgetting that this isn't my room anymore." Harry joked weakly. "I'm not used to having company."

"Well then maybe this will help you to remember my presence." Draco said in a huskier voice than normal.

He stood mesmerized as Draco lazily pushed himself away from the doorway and lightly, almost casually brushed his lips against Harry's. Draco's lips looked sublime and oh so kissable and before he could stop himself, Harry felt himself leaning in for a deeper kiss.

Harry could feel the softness and warmth of Draco's lips, the sweet taste of wine that still lingered. And for a moment, he thought he felt the light nibble of teeth against his bottom lip, a flick from Draco's tongue.

However, the feeling was fleeting. Draco pulled away and gave Harry a small smile before guiding him softly from the room with a murmured "Goodnight, Harry."


End file.
